Summary

The website content reflects on the emotional and psychological impact of a friend's hospitalization and treatment, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a sense of identity and normalcy through beauty and self-expression amidst adversity.

Abstract

The text is a poignant reflection on a friend's experience with a serious health condition, juxtaposing the stark reality of hospital life with the personal desire for beauty and self-identity. It describes how the friend, despite being confined to a hospital bed and dealing with the aftermath of a triple stroke, remains steadfast in her wish to preserve her image, specifically rejecting the appearance of grey hair in her "russet corona." The author empathizes with this need, drawing a parallel to their own father's insistence on maintaining his appearance even in death. The narrative underscores the significance of personal agency and the human spirit's resilience, questioning society's obsession with outward beauty while acknowledging its role in bolstering one's inner strength during times of powerlessness. The piece is both a tribute to the author's friend and a broader meditation on the questions of life, beauty, and dignity in the face of illness.

Opinions

The author understands and supports the friend's desire to maintain her appearance, viewing it as a form of resistance against the indignities of illness.
There is a critique of the societal pressure to conform to certain beauty standards, even when facing serious health issues.
The piece suggests that the act of self-adornment, such as painting one's face or hair, is a deeply personal and psychological endeavor that can provide comfort and continuity of self.
The author believes that the inner light or "luster" we possess and share is of utmost importance, especially when external circumstances challenge our sense of control and power.
Gratitude is expressed towards the community at "Know Thyself, Heal Thyself" for providing a space for reflection and creative expression, as well as to the readers for engaging with the author's thoughts and experiences.

TREATMENT PLAN

Hair Day at the Hospital

Pondering the importance of Light when our power suffers an outage

Why must we paint perfection? Photo by Denise Chan on Unsplash

Of course, it was only a matter of time before my beautiful friend’s treatment plan would include lush chestnut swathes of art therapy for her stressed tresses and shocked psyche.

My beautiful friend may be rooted to a hospital bed… she may be rising with grace above innumerable indignities, stark pronouncements, unappeasable pain… But thick strokes of grey spilling like doubt into faith past her hairline, into her crown remain intolerable. Her edict — no leaden strands in her russet corona.

I get it. Only death will keep me from painting my face. (My edict — undertaker, hands off! Forty years later, how deeply my father’s pancake redo haunts my thin-skinned psyche.)

Oh, my beautiful friends, when will we see that the luster we conceive, summon, inspire, bequeath is what matters? Especially when, in one rabid stroke of the second hand, our power suffers an outage?

©Jenine Bsharah Baines 2023

A second poem inspired by my beautiful friend’s triple stroke. (Yes, triple!)

Thank you, Diana C., for the home at Know Thyself, Heal Thyself…and for the perfect prompt: Write about the questions that have been lingering in your mind, awaiting an answer.

August Prompts ✿

Let your creativity flow.

medium.com

And thank you, team at Know Thyself, Heal Thyself — Ravyne Hawke, Spyder — and dearest readers for pondering with me. Love.

Jeni

please click here if inclined to ponder, play, dream and sing with me.

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